Scorpions on Rose Petals
by Sullen Sphinx
Summary: RoseScorpius Summaries are annoying. R&R! Slight DH spoilers
1. Breakfast Brings Routine

**Disclaimer**: Harry Potter does not belong to me. It belongs to J.K. Rowling. I also do not own Scorpius or Rose. However, I own this story idea and the characters of Josephine and Esmeralda. However, when I decide to give them surnames, I may or may not own those. However, I will mention that part of the disclaimer then. Oh, and the title of the story is credited to my friend Kaley and me. Also, the character of Josephine is _slightly_ based on a character she role-plays as.

**Author's Note**: This is my first fanfiction in a while. So, I hope you enjoy!

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The candles were flickering brightly against the ornate, blue and bronze drapery in the spacious dormitory. All but that one candle had been blown out in the attempt to create a proper sleeping environment. However, Rose Weasley was too much like her mother to go to bed before finished the chapter in her book. However, this book was not just any, old textbook. It was not a magical mystery novel either. It was a muggle classic that her mother had given her just a few days ago during Christmas holidays. It was titled _The Catcher in the Rye_. So far though, Rose did find it rather odd. Well, she did not find the novel weird but she found the main character, Holden Caulfield, weird.

First of all, Holden insisted on wearing this hunting hat around. It was the oddest of things. He wasn't a hunter but he found the hat to be 'stylish' even though Rose imagined him to look like a complete dumbass. Rose had one of her eyebrows raised throughout the entire course of her reading. At the moment, Rose was reading that Holden was in a muggle thing called a taxi cab, asking the driver if he knew where the birds in the pond flew during the winter. It was obvious that the cab driver also though that Holden was weird. However, as she kept on reading, she found his character very entertaining. She also realized that his favorite catch phrase was, "ya crumby bastard." How appropriate.

Finally, Holden made it too his shabby, little hotel. The chapter soon ended and Rose finally decided to put down the book. She grabbed the piece of satin that she was using a bookmarked and placed it where she had left off. Then she scooted down into the bed, placed her pillow flat on the bed, and then fluffed it. She eased herself nicely into the soft down comforter under the blue and bronze, velvety cover. She sighed heavily as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

--

Morning came bright and early that Thursday. It was freezing in the stone-covered dormitory and Rose was glad that she had her heavy-duty, gray socks on when her feet met the floor. She grabbed the new quilt that her grandmother knitted for her and wrapped it around her as she shuffled quickly to her trunk to get her clothes for the day. She opened it with a click and pulled out a collection of garments that were perfectly laid out next to one another. She stacked them on top of the other and then she used her sock-glad foot to push her shoes over to the side of the bed where she laid her clothing out.

She got dresses quickly, ran her brush through her curly red hair and then made her way to the girls' lavatory that resided on the right side of the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. She then brushed her teeth, washed her face, and adjusted this and that. She definitely wasn't a beauty with her curly, red hair and plain blue eyes but she knew that she wasn't a horror to look at. She did have a boyfriend for a short amount of time. His name was Nathaniel Smith and he was in hufflepuff and he was actually quite cute. She remembered seeing some of the seething girls that glared at her when the pair would walk down the hallway. She liked him because well, he was rather nice. However, things ended after two months of what Rose would have called 'puppy love.' Rose wasn't that disappointed but she could tell that Nathaniel was. He was quite bitter during their classes for the next two weeks. That was last year though, in her fifth year at Hogwarts.

She left the bathroom all ready for breakfast. She was pretty early because when she left, her dormmates, two of which were her best friends, were still sleeping. She made her way to the wooden door that led out of the common room and into a stonewalled corridor. She felt her worn, Mary Jane-styled shoes shuffle across the slightly lumpy stone floor as she made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast. After a series of swirling staircases and hallways, Rose finally made it to the entrance of the Great Hall. The Great Hall was lacking in occupants. She definitely was early. She walking in quietly and made way for the Ravenclaw table. She sat down quickly in her and her friends' usual spot. They always sat in the middle of the table except slightly towards the front of the great hall where the professors dined.

She sighed as she adjusted her seating position on the long, wooden bench. Then she decided that she would start her breakfast. She scooped some eggs out of a golden bowl and tapped them on to her plate. She then took a few sweet biscuits from a golden plate and then put them onto her plate. She tapped some salt and pepper onto her eggs and started eating, without waiting for her friends. Usually, they waited a bit for each other but last night during dinner, Rose was reading her book instead of eating. She did get a few bites in before dinner ended but it wasn't enough. So, she was quite hungry. However, it wasn't too much longer that Rose caught sight of her two friends walking in through the entrance of the great hall. She smiled in their direction but knew there was no need to wave them down. They knew where she was. They had for almost six years now.

As the two of them approached, Rose turned her head to look at them as they made their way down the aisle and took their places across from her at the table. The taller of the two, Josephine, was the first to say anything to Rose. "Couldn't wait for us, yeah?" she said, with a delighted smirk on her face.

"I was so hungry, Joey. I couldn't wait any longer," Rose replied, chuckling a bit.

"Of course, you couldn't, Rosie. You had your nose in that book of yours during most of dinner. You only had too bites of your salmon. I counted," said Rose's other friend, Esmeralda, who was the shorter of Rose's two best friends.

"Well, it was getting really good, Ezzie," Rose pleaded, almost seriously.

"Whatever, Rosie," Josephine said with her elbow on the table and the side of her face in her palm.

Esmeralda and Josephine started eating and the three of them talked. However, they did not talk with food in their mouth for that was gross. They were talking about yesterday's Arithmancy quiz and how Esmeralda was sure that she failed it with puking colors. But, a drastic turn in their conversation approached when they could hear the most nauseating sound in the world, coming from the Slytherin table. A horrible, glass-shattering sob could be heard and all three of them grimaced as they realized they knew immediately who it was. The sob belonged to none other than Precious Pucey, Scorpius Malfoy's on-and-off girlfriend. It seemed as if everyone had their eyes on Precious Pucey even though they still carried on their morning conversations with their friends and housemates. Rose had to turn around to get a view of the scene, even though Esmeralda and Josephine had the perfect view of it.

Scorpius sat in the middle of the small, elite Slytherin group and it seemed as if the rest of his group was laughing so violently that they were either crying or falling backwards and off the bench. However, Scorpius only had a sour look on his face, as if he disapproved of his friends or of Precious, his ex-girlfriend. Rose really couldn't tell but at the moment, she kind of felt sorry for Precious. Not only was she humiliated in front of the school but she was given the most unfortunate name Rose could imagine. She had known Precious Pucey since their first year. She actually met Precious on the train to Hogwarts. She seemed nice, a little pompous, but nice. However, now they did not speak to one another, unless they were partnered up for something in some class. And of course, Josephine was the first to speak up.

"_Precious Pukey_ is a tramp. From what I've seen, I think Malfoy should be glad to get rid of her no matter how much I dislike him," she said with disdain.

"But Joey, haven't you realized? You must have. Scorpius is so handsome," Esmeralda said dreamily as she placed her face in both of her palms.

"Of course I have, Ezzie, but he is a git nonetheless. What do you think, Rosie?" Josephine replied and questioned sharply.

"Well, I don't know. He has never said a mean thing to me," said Rose, shrugging her shoulders in a noticeable way.

"How can you say that he could even possibly be _nice_, Rosie?" Joey asked irritably, "He's the son of Draco Malfoy and he's in the group of dirty rotten Slytherins. Not to mention that he dated _Precious Pukey_ since fourth year. He—"

"Yeah, Rosie. How could a guy that dated that piece of work be _nice_?" Esmeralda piped.

"_Ezzie_, I was just about to say that _before you interrupted me_," Joey said being quite annoyed.

"Sorry 'bout that, Joey," Esmeralda said apologetically.

"Joey! How are you so sure of yourself? Have you even made communication with Scorpius?" Rose asked Josephine curiously.

"Of course not! He's _Malfoy_! Wait! Wait just a moment. Did you just call him '_Scorpius_?'" Josephine asked as if she had been horrified.

"Yes I did, Joey. That _is_ his name after all," Rose said, nodding slightly.

"But—But, that's like showing him respect, Rosie! He doesn't deserve it," Josephine said in reply again.

"Whatever, it's just a name, Joey. Get over it," Rose said lightly as she finished her last sweet biscuit. Rose could hear her friend scoff and the other, she could see look from her to Rose several times.

"Anyway, I'm off. I'll see you in Herbology, Ezzie. Oh, and Joey, I'll see you in Potions," Rose said, as she made her way out of the Great Hall. As she made her way out, she saw Scorpius Malfoy rise out of his seat and also make his way out of the Great Hall and away from his snickering gang of _friends_. As Rose continued to make her way out of the Great Hall, she felt a small, emblazoned smile rush across her lips. She knew what was going to happen next. She knew that Scorpius was going to catch up to her and not say a word until she did. This had been going since the end of first year. Rose did not know how to describe it. It wasn't a taunting, teasing relationship nor was it a friendship. The only remotely correct way to describe it was a _secret_ acquaintanceship. However, at times Rose felt it could be something more than an acquaintanceship. As always, Rose was the person to say something first.

"So, I take it that you were sick of those shrieking buffoons?" Rose asked turned her head slightly, so that Scorpius could not see her emerging smirk.

"They are not shrieking buff—! You're right. They are," he said as Rose could just feel the smirk rise upon his face. Rose and Scorpius were walking side by side now as they walked fairly slowly and alertly down the corridor.

"What exactly did you say to _Precious_?" Rose asked, nearly gagging at the disturbing name. Josephine was right, her name did sound like a name that you would give a lap dog. Rose inwardly shivered at the thought.

Scorpius was a bit startled that Rose asked something a little personal but he didn't object to this questioning. "Well, you see, she was trying to sit on my lap and I told her to stop. However, she refused to stop! I guess I just snapped and told her that I didn't like how clingy she was and how she was pawing me. She complained and then I guess I just told her it was over. After that, she ran out sobbing like a mad woman," he said and Rose could tell he was doing his best to not sound insensitive and shallow. However, Rose didn't blame him. She would have done the same if she were in his place.

As they talked and walked down the corridor, Rose looked at Scorpius in detail. She remembered seeing his father at King's Cross Station and realizing that Scorpius did look a lot like his father except for his eyes. He saw his mother with them as well and she realized that it was her hazel eyes that he had. Rose realized that she rather like Scorpius's eyes a few years ago. They were an odd color of hazel too. There was also a small, thin ring of steel gray around his pupils and Rose believed that is what set them off. His hair was also like his father's, flaxen and straight. Rose admired his features but not longingly like she knew a great amount of girls at Hogwarts did.

They continued talking and soon, they went to their different ways and before they parted company, Rose said what she always said.

"I'll see you in Potions."

**Author's Ending Note**: So, what do you think? I hope you enjoyed it. Please review this. I know it's not fun to review at times, but I am hoping to go somewhere with this and I want to know what you think. (: Thanks so much and stay tuned for more.


	2. Potions Class Brings Explosions

**Disclaimer**: Harry Potter does not belong to me. It belongs to J.K. Rowling. I also do not own Scorpius or Rose. However, I own this story idea and the characters of Josephine and Esmeralda. However, when I decide to give them surnames, I may or may not own those. However, I will mention that part of the disclaimer then. Oh, and the title of the story is credited to my friend Kaley and me. Also, the character of Josephine is slightly based on a character she role-plays as. Oh, and if there is a character with a last name or full name that looks familiar to the books, it's not mine.

**Answers to Reviews**: (since there were not many, I'm answering all of them :)

_Anonymous_ – Thank you, dear. I do know who you are. As I keep writing this, I'm counting on you to give me ideas and stuff when you can. You encouraged me a lot and I give you virtual hugs for that.

_Crossy_ – Thank you so much for the review and of course I plan on writing more. However, I still don't know when I am going to end this. I fear it may be very long. I don't want to speed up things between Scorpius and Rose just yet. :

_Littlegreenweirdo123_ – Well, he was messing with her. His comment did not mean that she was going to be placed in Gryffindor. I never saw Rose getting in Gryffindor even when I saw that comment Ron made. Yeah, Hermione almost got in Ravenclaw and well, Ravenclaw is one of my two house options and I wanted Rose to be in it. Thanks for the review.

_haylared_ – Thank you so much! I'm glad you find it interesting.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for the reviews you guys! I have decided to continue this because not only have I gotten good notes on this story here, but some of my friends love it as well. Also, the character of Esmeralda is not in this chapter. However, she will appear in chapter number three. That is the chapter when bits about Rose's two friends will be explained. Now, onto the story! ;

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"How many letters are in 'the alphabet'?"

"Eleven," Rose said, quite pleased with herself.

The riddle had been changed right after Christmas holidays. This was a common occurrence at Hogwarts. No house kept the same password for too long. Anyway, Rose saw the little eagle knocker squawk once and then open so that she could get it. She had gone to the common room to get her books and supplies for her morning classes. The first just happened to be Potions. Of course, Rose excelled in Potions and Professor Slughorn was quite pleased with her work as well. Her mum and dad were surprised when Rose told them that Professor Slughorn was still teaching at Hogwarts, even in his old age. However, Rose actually liked her Potions professor despite what some of her friends thought of him.

Rose continued into the common room and towards her dormitory in order to get her things for class. She picked up her _Advanced Potions_ textbook off the small, opening bookcase that her mother gave her last Christmas so that she could store her textbooks and other reading materials in an orderly fashion. It was exactly the kind of present that her mum would have given her. However, Rose absolutely adored it and it's delicate, but lovely finishing. Anyway, she put the book under her arm and then she put the book on her bed and leaned down to look under her bed. She pulled out one, few-feet scroll of parchment for today's notes. Then reaching under again, she grabbed her small, size two pewter cauldron.

Rose quickly got up and then grabbed her things and made her way out of her dormitory. She entered the main common room and saw a girl who was in the year above her named Hyacinth Graves. She was sitting on the couch with some good-looking boy who Rose knew to be her boyfriend. Hyacinth Barbary, as everyone knew, was the daughter of Merton Graves, the cellist for the Weird Sisters. Everyone knew who she was and everyone knew who her boyfriend was because of her. Anyway, Rose continued on her way because she hoped that she would not have catch part of their little soon-to-be make out session. That was something that she was not hoping to see before she made her way down to the dungeons for Potions. She quickly excited the Ravenclaw and made her way down the corridor.

On her way out, she readjusted her holding on her cauldron, book, and rolls of parchment. She knew that she would loose grip of them and drop them if she didn't do just that. Rose kelp on walking and she would come across one of her friends from another house. She even saw Albus, but he was rounding the corner and she couldn't catch up to him. He was several feet in front of her and well, it was obvious that he was engrossed in some conversation with someone. Anyway, she finally reached the staircase that led down to the dungeon after weaving her way down corridors, stairs, and students. At these steps, Rose became wary. She knew that they steps were slippery and damp, so she help onto the railing and stepped, one step at a time.

Rose entered the Potions classroom that was located in dungeon number…five, as she saw on the side of the entrance. She sauntered over to her usually table that she usually shared with Josephine, unless one of them was sick. She set up her cauldron and organized her area as she waited for class to come together. About five minutes after she started to wait, she heard a shuffling and turned her head around lightly to see who it was. Oh, it was Precious Pucey. Wait, what? She was coming over to her table, but why? Rose was curious now.

"Rose, right?" she asked, a little too haughty if you asked Rose.

"Yes," Rose replied plainly.

"Okay. I was wondering if I could sit next to you. I just broke up with my boyfriend and usually he is usually my partner. However, it would be rather awkward to be partners, right?" she asked, a little nicer than before but still a little haughtier.

"Sure," Rose said shrugging.

"Thanks," Precious replied in a rather annoyingly sweet voice. Rose hoped she wouldn't use that voice again.

Rose sat quietly with her face in her palm and her elbow on the table. She lightly drummed her fingers against the wood table and waited as the room suddenly started to fill with the other sixth year Potions students. There were a total of twelve students in the class. Usually, there was less but it seemed as if this year was smarter than the others. There was Rose of and Josephine, of course. There was also a two boys from Ravenclaw, Geoffrey Harlow and Joshua Goldstein. There was one girl from Hufflepuff named Jacinthe Haproot. There were three students from Gryffindor. A dark boy Ethan Thomas, who was the son of one of her father's schoolmates, had just come in. There was a girl who was Ethan's good friend already sitting in her seat in the back. She gave him a glare because he was almost late. Her name was Phillipa Entwhistle and she had this stern but nice look to her.

On the other side of Jacinthe Haproot sat the other Gryffindor. His name was Albus Potter and he was Rose's cousin. He had come in with Jacinthe and Rose was going to say hello, but it seemed as if he was busy talking to Jacinthe. Of course Rose had found it incredibly obvious that Albus had liked Jacinthe. However, it seemed as Jacinthe was concentrating on her textbook, not returning eye contact with Albus. She was sure that Jacinthe liked him. What girl would not? However, Rose only new this because Esmeralda and quite a few other girls in Ravenclaw and even one or two from Slytherin asked about him frequently. Anyway, she couldn't be sure. Jacinthe was the weirdest Hufflepuff she had ever met. That was not really true because she knew one that was the 'Queen of the Strange and Unique.'

That person just happened to be Avalon Scamander. She was actually a close friend of Rose because they practically grown up together because her mother, Luna, was friends with her parents. However, she was in the year below Rose. Anyway, Rose couldn't exactly 'pin' Jacinthe. She was perhaps the most distant Hufflepuff Rose had ever met. However, if Albus liked her, she would like her. Albus was her closest friend in the world, even more so than Josephine or Esmeralda. Not only was he a friend, he was family. Family was important to Rose. As Rose was dwelling on this, her friend Josephine had entered the classroom. Rose found her crouched now next to her desk with an agitated look upon her face.

"Why is _that_ sitting in my seat?" Josephine asked in a bit of a snotty whisper.

"Sorry, Joey, but well, her partner was Scorpius. Don't you think it would be awkward for her to sit with him after this morning?" she asked her friend.

"No, I don't! Well, fine. I'll go sit with Geoffrey," she said, in that pouty voice of hers. She could be worse than Precious at times.

Rose watched Josephine as she turned around and made her way over to Geoffrey but she got there just as Joshua sat down next to him. She could hear Josephine grunt and then walk back over to Rose and crouch down again.

"Rosie! Now I have sit next to one of the Slytherins over there," she gestured over to the corner.

A group of them were standing in the corner, including Scorpius. Rose was tempted to look over at him, looking for his eye, but she didn't. He was standing there with a group of Slytherins. Among them was Scorpius of course, and two other Slytherins. There was a girl, quite tall, and her name was Jade Runcorn. She had a sour look on her face and she had her arms class. The other boy was Cassius Selwyn and he was okay looking but he wasn't very nice. He was taller than Scorpius and slightly bulkier than him as well.

"It's just one class, Joey. You'll live," Rose said quickly, a little annoyed with Josephine at the moment.

"God," she muffled and went over to sit down next to Jade. However, once again Cassius sat down next to her and then it hit Josephine. The only spot available was next to Scorpius Malfoy.

"You've got to be shitting me. _Malfoy_?" Rose could hear Josephine mumble to herself. Rose rolled her eyes with a smile. She watched Josephine as she slowly made her way over to the desk where Scorpius sat. Rose was certain that Josephine had a scowl on her face about the situation. Rose was beginning to think that it might be entertaining. Josephine had to once again to force herself into the seat next to him when elderly Professor Slughorn entered the classroom. She stole another glance at Josephine. She had the most ugly look of disdain on her face. At that moment, Rose wondered what Josephine's face would look like if she knew that Scorpius and her secretly got along. She really didn't want to picture it so she turned her head quickly and turned her attention to the professor at the front of the classroom.

"Class!" he said loudly, in his elderly voice to get the attention of people who were chattering. Soon, everyone became quiet and listened to him.

"Today, you are going to learn how to brew a potion called the Isfynore Drought. Its main purpose is to give the skin color if a person's skin is unable to produce an obvious pigment in the facial region. It's not a beauty potion. It gives the person the ability to have color in their face when need be. Now, the person next to you is to be your partner for today. Follow the directions and try not to blow anything up."

Rose and Precious decided to use Rose's cauldron so Precious put her cauldron far, underneath the desk. Rose told Precious to get the ingredients out and sorted and that she would start reading. Precious sighed but did what she said and Rose placed her finger underneath the first line of the instructions.

"Eye of Newt," she said to herself and to Precious. When the eye did not come, she turned and saw Precious holding the container of newt eyes out to her.

"I can't touch it," Precious said childishly as she jiggled the jar-like container to her.

"Fine. Give it to me," Rose said as she reached to take it. However, Precious let to go too quickly and with a smash, clatter, and tinkling noise, the container and contents when everywhere. Irritated, Rose fumbled for her wand and pointed it at the mess and sharply said, "_Reparo_."

The container reconstructed and landed in her hand. Rose then took one out, unfazed, and dropped into the steamy, deep cauldron basin. Then, she continued the potion with Precious, making sure to handle the most disgusting ingredients herself. She was working efficiently and within half an hour she was on a roll and she was almost done. However, about seven feet away, there were some problems. The problems were coming from Josephine and Scorpius's desk

Josephine was still being sour about having to work with Scorpius and in the process she almost cut her finger, singe her hair, and got ashroot dust in Scorpius's eyes. Scorpius volunteered to do it but Josephine was stubborn and wouldn't let him. She said they were going to do this together, but it seemed as if she wasn't letting him at all.

Rose finally finished and she finished pretty early. So, she ladled the potion into a nice, medium-sized bottle and corked it. She told Precious to take it to Professor Slughorn and she scampered off and did so. Both of them sat down and relaxed for the remainder of class. Rose then turned her head over to Josephine and Scorpius. It seemed as if they were having trouble. She was watching Josephine as she put in four drops of snake blood. Wait, what? She was supposed to put in three drops not four. Then suddenly, there was a huge explosion. Rose turned away quickly and closed her eyes, shielding herself from whatever might fly at her. All she heard was a shout from Josephine.

After everything settled down, Rose turned around to see her friend. She was shocked to see that her friend now has a snow-white face. It looked like the painted face of one of those geisha dolls that her mother gave her when she and her father went to Japan on vacation. Anyway, she heard a bunch of laughs erupt. Everyone but Rose, Scorpius and of course, Josephine, seemed to be roaring with laughter. Oh, and Professor Slughorn was not laughing either. He was scrambling slowly from his large armchair in the corner of the classroom. Josephine did not know that her face had turned white and was examining all over herself, trying to look for boils or horns. So far, she was unsuccessful.

"Miss Runcorn, please escort Josephine to the Hospital Wing," Professor Slughorn said, as he motioned to the door with his elderly, wrinkled finger, "And Mister Malfoy, you can come in tomorrow after class and complete the potion."

Scorpius nodded and the rest of the class consisted of the other students trying to finish their potions and still talk about what had just happened to Josephine. Rose and Precious sat quietly at their table and Rose was looking at the clock would turn on the hour. Then, Rose would be able to go and get on to her next class, Care of Magical Creatures. She had decided that she was not going to go back to the common room and her dormitory. Sixth year Care of Magical Creatures did not have a textbook so she was going to shrink her potions necessities and put them in one of the inside pockets of her robe.

As it was getting closer to the end of class, Rose saw the other students hand in their potions. Albus and Jacinthe's potion was perfect, must like Roses. Phillipa and Ethan's potion was adequate but a little off the perfect pale, rose pink it was supposed to be. Cassius turned his and Jade's in and it was an ugly green color. Joshua and Geoffrey's was a little off, but adequate as well. Anyway, Rose shrank her materials and then Professor Slughorn dismissed them. Rose, as well as the other students, got up and made their way out of the classroom. The only person in that class that had Care of Magical Creatures with Rose next was Scorpius. So they were walking in the same direction. The other Slytherins made their way in different directions. So, no one was really watching them or near them. Rose was about something but instead, Scorpius spoke first. Wait, he never said anything first.

"So, I guess your friend really doesn't like me," he said with a light laugh.

"No, but she's ignorant," Rose replied, stealing a short glance at her walking companion.

"So, was _Precious_ giving you a hard time," Scorpius asked curiously.

"No, not really. But she wouldn't hand me a newt eye. She shattered the container and all of the gross ingredients, I handled from then on," she said chuckling a bit. Scorpius laughed a bit.

They continued in their secret acquaintanceship, chattering away, as they were on their way to class.

**Author's Note**: So, how was it? Did you like it? I hope you did. I'm quite proud of myself. Review away, lovelies. :)


	3. Conversation Brings Butterflies

**Author's Note**: Okay, so, I know it has been a **long** time since I have updated Scorpions on Rose Petals. I forgot about it for a bit and also, I had no time or inspiration. However, here is chapter three of my Scorpius and Rose saga. A few of my friends have been giving me ideas on what to do for future chapters. I shall not reveal them to you unless you are dying and or willing to help me with some ideas. Of course, if you help, you will be credited in the chapter that you help with. I'm also working on some ideas for things as well. I hope you like this chapter. More about Rose's two best friends will be revealed in this chapter. I have been meaning to tell more about them. Anyway, onto the responses to reviews that are pretty old. Haha.

Oh, and I know that in the last chapter. I said that Hyacinth Graves was Hyacinth Barbary. That is a typo because I am using Barbary in this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: Oh, and I **do not** own Harry Potter, or the characters. I own the characters that I have made up. If they have a canon last name, I **do not** own their last names, I own their **personality** and **actions**. Oh, I also own the plot of this story. That's about it. Oh, and Josephine is a character based on a character that my friend role-plays as.

Responses 

**Mystère de tempête** – Thank you so much. I love the slow evolution as well and I hope to have a more in-depth conversation soon. I will try to have something adequate in this chapter for interaction between Scorpius and Rose.

**icyslumber** – I love Scorpius/Rose parings as well. Thanks so much for the review and I know I didn't update soon, but here is the third chapter. ;

**Chia89 **– Thank you so much! I love the idea as well. I hope you and the rest of my readers keep reading. ;D

Onto the story! Huzzah!

--

The morning was misty and chilly as Rose slowly awoke that Friday morning with black circles under her blue eyes. Josephine was released an hour or so after lunch from the Hospital Wing and she would not shut up. "It was Malfoy's fault, Rose!" and "How come you are not angry at him, Rosie?" were her main rants and raves until about midnight last night. Rose was weary and tired. Ever since she was small, she had to get an obscene amount of sleep to be able to function properly. Rose thought that would have worn off by the time she was sixteen years old. However, she still needed a lot of sleep. After dinner, Rose would go up to the common room and finish some homework and then go to bed quite a bit before ten o'clock at night. This only added to the bookworm, smarty-pants attitude that everyone believed Rose held. However, there was more to her than that but that's not really important at the moment.

Rose looked over to her timepiece, which was themed. Behind the flaming minute and hour signifiers was a wizarding picture of the band, Firewhiskey Sunsets, Rose's favorite band of all time. Anyway, Rose looked at the time and breakfast was halfway through. Rose jumped out of bed, startled, and ran to put her clothes on. She had a quiz in Arithmancy that she did not want to miss that morning. She quickly changed out of her nightclothes and into her customary uniform, blue and bronze tie and all. As she did so, she looked around the room. Josephine's curtains were closed but Rose could see one arm fall out and off the bed, through the curtains with her toes peaking out the end. Josephine was always the craziest sleeper compared to Rose. Rose slept still throughout the night, maybe moving a little once or twice.

Then, Rose looked to the other side of her own bed and saw Esmeralda, with her curtains open. She had her thumb in her mouth and Rose fought the urge to laugh, or get her camera. She went against either and finished getting dressed. She brushed her hair quickly and then grabbed her bag on the way out. She would brush her teeth in the bathroom after breakfast. Who brushes their teeth before they eat? Crazy people, that's who. Rose shifted through the people, who were probably already up around the same time as her. As she shifted through the people, Fred Weasley, her cousin, almost trampled her. However, she didn't really make a stink about it. Fred was crazy when it came to food, much like the rest of her male relatives, including her younger brother, Hugo.

Rose finally arrived at the Great Hall and sat down quietly at the Ravenclaw table. After getting a few items on her plate, Joshua Goldstein sat down next to her, followed slowly by a half-dead-looking boy who went by the name of Thaddeus Barbary. Another famous child at Hogwarts school, Thaddeus was the son of Heathcote Barbary, another member of the music phenomenon, the Weird Sisters. Thaddeus was handsome but not so much that he had an ego. Actually, he was quite nice and Rose remembered having a small crush on him in second year. Right now, he wasn't handsome at all. He sat down ungracefully and almost fell into the bowl of oatmeal that appears before him. Mr. Early Bird Joshua smiled, almost laughed and pulled Thaddeus, or Thad, as everyone called him, up before his face could reach the lumpy substance. Joshua made sure that Thaddeus had a cup of strong tea before his face could hit the oatmeal again.

Rose leaned towards Joshua and whispered, "What's with Thad?"

Joshua said quietly in reply, "He was up all night sending letters to some girl from Gryffindor. I couldn't tell who it was but the letters appeared very _interesting_, by the expressions on Thad's face. However, I got tired of watching him write ooey-gooey love notes to that bird and went to sleep."

Rose nodded in reply and dug into her food, while Joshua did the same. Rose couldn't seem to get yesterday out of her head. Josephine was so quick to judge Scorpius and she had never even spoken to him anything but a few dismissive, spiteful words that Scorpius never got offended by. He didn't seem to think she was disrespecting him in anyway, the way that most purebloods did when someone spoke to them _wrongly_. Rose continued in her thoughts but a moment later, she heard a very grumpy voice approaching her, along with clattering footsteps.

"Rosie, why _didn't_ you wake me and Ezzie up? Breakfast is almost over and I'm starving!" said the loud, whiney voice.

Rose slowly turned around and realized that it was Josephine McDougal, her best friend. Behind her, was Esmeralda Hollands, her other best friend. Josephine came from a pureblood family with old money, one of the few pure families left. She seemed to have no prejudices against people who were of less blood and that was one of the reasons Rose felt drawn to her in the first place. However, at times, Rose wanted to tell Josephine to stuff it because her mouth was as big as Asia and she didn't know how to control it. Then there was Esmeralda, a muggleborn student whom Rose felt a connection to. Esmeralda was scared, excited, but scared and had lost her way on the first year car. Rose asked her to sit with Albus, Fred, and herself. Josephine joined them later. Anyway, Esmeralda was a sweetheart but a little dim-witted at times and she always seemed to follow Josephine's commands and throughout Josephine's insinuations, Esmeralda was nodding and agreeing with what Josephine said.

Rose just said plainly, "You were asleep and I didn't want to wake you. I actually only came down about ten minutes ago."

Josephine sat down next to Thaddeus, grumpily and Esmeralda followed suit, only, she did it was a shrug. The six of them ate and were soon joined by a messy-haired Geoffrey Harlow, another boy in Ravenclaw. Rose quickly finished and told Esmeralda that she would see her in Arithmancy later. Classes started in about forty-five minutes and Rose wanted to get there early and study a bit before the quiz. She found out late afternoon that she got full marks on the day-before-yesterday's quiz and she wanted to keep it up in order to get Head Girl next year, hopefully. She knew that Grace Baddock was a contender. She was taking all N.E.W.T. level classes with an exception for Potions and she made full marks on just about **everything**. Ever since first year, there had been a little competition between Rose and the Gryffindor genius.

Anyway, Rose made her way to the third floor, where this year's Arithmancy class was being held. Professor Vector was still teaching Arithmancy at Hogwarts and she often asked how Rose's mother was. Professor Vector often said that Hermione Granger was one of her favorite, most promising students. However, when Vector made references to Rose's mother during class, Rose often got embarrassed and looked at funny. You know, the usual. Rose wasn't like her mother in many ways. She wasn't a know-it-all or goody-two-shoes. She was smart and that was about it for similarities.

Rose continued on her way and when she finally reached the 'abandoned' hallway, she realized that she wasn't alone. She was quite a while away from the classroom where she stopped in her tracks and she only realized that there was someone there was because of a patch of bright blonde. Otherwise, the person's gray uniform could have blended in with the wall. She knew it was Scorpius and something inside her jumped. For a moment, she thought it might be her stomach going up to make acquaintance with her heart. She stopped for a moment and shook the surprise away. She had indeed been wondering were Scorpius was during breakfast. She assumed he was still sleeping, even though he was more of an early bird than she was. She had never seen Scorpius so alone. Well, not alone. She meant surrounded by his 'friends' and things like that. Seeing him like this was intriguing.

Rose still couldn't believe that there were people that found him so repulsive. There wasn't anything repulsive about his appearance. He has pale, but miraculous skin. He didn't have his father's severely pointed face and features. He got some of his mother's curvaceous facial features. His mother was Daphne Greengrass, who became the Editor of the _Witch Weekly_ not too long ago. However, he did look very much like his father. Rose knew that many of the girls thought him to be gorgeous and a sex god. However, Rose just thought him to be handsome, especially when he smiled. It wasn't as if his smile was a rare occurrence. He smiled a lot, but in the last day or so, not so much. He did have funny friends. Rose overheard a joke that one of Scorpius's friends, Caleb Pritchard, told him. It wasn't about 'mudbloods.' It was some blond joke that was pretty funny. Rose laughed to herself about it. Anyway, Rose knew that she couldn't stand there much longer because if Scorpius saw her standing there, staring at him, he might get a little weirded out.

Rose was going to sit down but she knew that she wasn't going to down _right_ next to him. So, she down next to him about three and half or so feet away from him. She sat on his right, placing her bag on her left, creating some sort of unintentional barrier. She looked over at him for split second and then to his textbook. He has made some neat, marginal notes. His handwriting was even better than hers and to Rose that was a surprise, because all her male relatives' handwritings looked like chicken scratch. Rose sighed and knew that she had to say something first. That is always how they did it. They had a routine, even though they were not close friends.

"Were you able to predict the events of next Sunday in the Chaldean theory? I was having trouble with it," Rose said sincerely. Rose actually was having trouble with it, despite what most people might think. People wouldn't believe Rose when she said she didn't understand. They would say, "Rose, there is no need to dumb down," when she actually needed help. She was getting ready for Scorpius to turn and give her a quizzical but it never came. Rose felt as if her eyebrows might have just raised a little. He didn't question her questions. Instead, he shifted and pulled a scrap piece of parchment from his back pocket and picked up the ratty, worn quill that was squished in the spine of the pages that he was looking at earlier. He started scribbling something down.

"You rearrange the letters on the chart because the number nine is not used in this arithmancy chart," Scorpius said as he scribbled the chart quickly and then wrote something down, the letters that were assigned. Rose calculated them quickly and smiled.

"Thanks. I was quite baffled when it said that I would be in Portugal, sipping wine and water-skiing on the back of a Rhinoceros," she said, laughing a little. She saw Scorpius smile just the slightest bit. Scorpius now spoke something to her.

"So, how is Josephine? Is her face intact?" he asked, obviously trying to hide his laughter. Rose had to admit, it was kind of funny.

"Yes, it is. She's fine but she had a fit last night. I did my best to tune her out, though," Rose said.

"What was her fit about," Scorpius asked curiously.

"You," Rose said simply.

"Oh, really?" Scorpius said, feigning interest in Josephine's fit, about him.

"Oh yeah. She loves you so much that she was screaming about how much she thinks you're a prick," Rose said sarcastically. Scorpius laughed, so hard in fact that Rose though he was going to double over onto the stone, corridor floor. Rose just smiled, finding accomplishment in making someone laugh. Rose wasn't always the funniest of girls and this little accomplishment might just be enough to make her day great.

"I thought she was going to kill me during Potions yesterday. If looks could kill, they be her's," he said, still recovering from his laughter.

"That's true. They really would. She gave me the third degree for not waking her up this morning. That reminds me. You weren't there?" she asked as casually as she could.

"No," Scorpius said, raising the side of his face a bit, showing the dimple off on that side of his face, "I came in really early, grabbed a biscuit and left. I really wanted to study for this quiz. I didn't do so great on the last one." Rose nodded lightly, assuming why that was so. He had, after all, planned to break up with Precious Pucey, his girlfriend since the middle of fifth year. He broke up with her yesterday, in front of everyone. Rose felt bad for Precious, but at the same time, Rose hoped that Scorpius had an excuse for doing that. He was always so pleasant to her. Also, Rose was surprised that Scorpius had done badly on the last quiz. He had always been the smartest boy in their year. Rose had a hankering that Scorpius was going to be made Head Boy.

"I came up here early as well to study because the geisha obstructed most of study time," she said, surprised that she came up with another joke. Was it being around Scorpius that gave her a better sense of humor or was her father finally rubbing off on her? The stuff he did to make Rose's mother laugh.

Scorpius laughed and nodded. "Let's study then. I could use it," he said, solemnly. Rose bit her lip lightly and then carefully suggested they study together. He accepted gratefully and then, they studied until it was time for class to start. They got quite a bit of reviewing in before students started arriving. The first one to arrive was Winifred Hopkins, a girl from Hufflepuff. Rose and her were Herbology partners last year. Scorpius and Rose had shifted quite closer and Rose even moved her bag away so she could point something out in Scorpius's Arithmancy book. After Winifred arrived, who wouldn't make a fuss and was not really paying attention, Scorpius and Rose shifted away from one another. Rose even stood up and gave Scorpius a small, _meaningless_ smile and subconsciously adjusted her skirt and bag.

Soon, many students had arrived and finally, Professor Vector opened the classroom so the students could file in and find their seats. Scorpius and Rose both made their way in separately and sat down. However, Rose sat in her regular seat and Scorpius, moved somewhere else. He sat at the two-person desk on the other side of the aisle, next to her. Usually, Geoffrey sat there but he was late so it could not be helped. Rose busied herself with preparing for the quiz. She got her quill and inkwell out and a moment later, someone who was not Esmeralda, who she usually sat by, joined her. Albus Potter, her most beloved cousin, joined her at the two-person desk. Albus had gotten into Gryffindor, despite his fears of getting into Slytherin. He was genuinely relieved at not getting into Slytherin. However, Rose knew that he would have been just fine in that house. He was determined, ambitious, and strong, despite his insecurities.

"Why's he sitting there?" Albus asked in my ear.

"Who knows," I said, fighting the urge to smile.

"Oh, I have been meaning to ask you. How are things going with Jacinthe?" I said, wiggling my eyebrows slightly.

I looked at Albus and I saw him blush furiously. "I don't know what you mean, Rosie," he said, turning around, trying to his red face. He was a Weasley and Rose knew it. Rose just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Oh, come off it, Albus! I know you like her," she said quietly to him.

"I do not," Albus replied but he couldn't look at her when he said it.

"Whatever. Anyway, did you study for the quiz today?" Rose asked.

Albus turned to answer, still red in the face, but Professor Vector cleared her throat and that was the universal sound for, "Class is starting!" Rose quickly looked around and saw that Esmeralda was sitting with Geoffrey. She sighed and paid attention to Professor Vector. Professor Vector, now a middle-aged woman, stood fairly tall and had graying, blond hair. She spoke to the class.

"You all know that we have a quiz today," she said while many groans could be heard, "So, I hope you studied. Get prepared and you can start your quizzes."

Rose was already prepared and she heard her classmates shuffling to get their things together. Soon, the quizzes on her desk flew out and about, going to each student. When Rose got hers, she looked over at Scorpius who was busy with his quiz. Rose quickly looked away and back to her quiz. She started, finding it fairly easy. The help that Scorpius gave her with the Chaldean theory, she realized, helped her a lot with the quiz. The quiz was heavily filled with questions about predictions using this method of Arithmancy. She made a mental note to thank him later. Their reviewing before class also helped. She secretly hoped that it helped him too. She believed, although she wouldn't openly admit it, that he would make a good Head Boy.

Rose finally finished her quiz and she stood up and placed it on Professor Vector's desk and then went back to her seat and sat down. She waited for the rest of the class to finish their quizzes and finally, it was time for class to be over. Rose wait for a few of the people to leave and finally made her way to leave. Most people had run off to their next classes and most of them were already out of sight. However, as she excited the classroom, she saw Scorpius, who slowly approached her.

"So, how was the quiz?" he asked, curiously.

"I was surprised. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be," Rose said, in a lightly cheerful way.

"I thought so too. I think I actually did good on this one," he said with an air of relief.

"Same, and thanks for the help Scorpius. That quiz was loaded with Chaldean theory," she said, with a bit of mock shock.

"Not a problem. Well, I'll see you later, Rose," he said with a faint smile as he walked away.

"Bye," Rose said, as she started on her way to History of Magic. She did not want to take the N.E.W.T. level of History of Magic but her mother convinced her to do so over the summer. Scorpius and Rose could have walked together but he didn't take the class, so he had a free period in which Rose would have gone to the Library if she had one. She was talking all the N.E.W.T. level classes she was offered. As she continued on her way, she met up with Josephine.

"There you are! Why did you leave so early?" Josephine asked, in her usual manner.

"I went to study some more before my quiz," Rose said with a little smile.

"Okay, that's fine. Let's make a stop before we go to class. I have to use the loo," Josephine said, with a little exaggeration her voice.

"Fine, let's go," Rose said as they made their way down the hall to the girls lavatory. They entered and Josephine rushed into the stall as if she was going to die if she didn't go. Rose waited and then Josephine came out and washed her hands. They were about to leave but as Rose reached for the knob, it opened. Rose and Josephine jumped back, startled. In came a very angry, Precious Pucey with the most ugly look on her face.

"Oh no, Rose Weasley. You aren't going anywhere."

**Author's Note**: Finally, it is finished and up. It's rather long and I hope you like it. Reviews make me happy. If you review, I'll post the next chapter sooner and I'll give out COOKIES. :


	4. Doodling Brings Smiles and Drama

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me

**Disclaimer**: Harry Potter does not belong to me. It belongs to J.K. Rowling. I also do not own Scorpius or Rose. However, I own this story idea and the characters of Josephine and Esmeralda. However, I do not own their last names, which were mentioned in the last chapter. Oh, and the title of the story is credited to my friend Kaley and me. Also, the character of Josephine is _slightly_ based on a character she role-plays as.

**Author's Note:** I am sorry for the long wait. I have been busy this last school year and summer but have returned for my senior year so I think that I should finish this chapter soon. I've had more than half of it done for at least a month but I have been slowly working on it. I need to plan out the next few chapters and ideas are a little short right now. I plan things out in little sections. I plan out the next few chapters, not the entire story. I want to make the story long, if possible. I will be applying for colleges and I'm sure most of that will be done before the semester is over. So, during breaks and other things, I'll be trying to update. I'll always be writing because I love to write and I love this story but chapters may come slowly. If anyone has ANY IDEAS, please feel free to send me a private message and if you want to talk more, I'll give you my MSN address / E-Mail. As for the direction of the story, I don't know it. I know, not the best way to start writing a fanfiction. I want to make this story quite long and I have a feeling I'll probably continue this story into the seventh year, maybe past that. So to keep this going, I may include some dramatic bits and include some bits about the drama and romance of other characters in this story. Ideas are appreciated!

I also know that my punctuation is bad. I might consider getting a beta. If you are a beta and would like to help, please contact me at my e-mail or private message me. I would like to make this the best story possible. I would love a beta who could toss around ideas with me, help me with blocks and my terrible punctuation problems and sometimes, sentence structure. Thank you so much. So, let's get the story started!

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"_Oh no, Rose Weasley. You aren't going anywhere."_

Rose and Josephine stood there in shock and as Precious moved more into the bathroom, made it their mission to move back in order to avoid colliding with the angry girl with the ugly expression. Josephine was the first to speak up, of course.

"Of course she is going somewhere. We are both going somewhere and that somewhere is to our next class. So if you'll excuse us…" Josephine trailed off smartly as she grabbed Rose's arm and made way to push Precious to the side so both of them could make their way out of the bathroom. However, Precious used the outside of her arm to stop them but yet not push them back. She still had that ugly expression on her face but this time, a spark of determination 'graced' her features.

"No, I don't think so, McDougal. I have some business to settle with Weasley, here," Precious said looking Josephine straight in the eye. Josephine once again tried to push her way through with a look of indifference, Rose still in tow. Precious stopped them once again, Josephine took an almost haughty step back and Rose knew exactly what expression her friend had on her face. She knew her friend all too well. "I _said_ that I have business to settle with Weasley. Stop playing the role of overprotective watch dog and get lost. This is actually important and it has nothing to do with you," she said once again. It was obvious that Precious Pucey was not going to back down and out of this one. Rose moved about to feet away from Josephine, shaking her arm out of her grip. She had no idea why Precious was so intent on talking to her alone but on some hidden level, she was glad that she has her smart-mouthed best friend, Josephine, to watch her back, not that she couldn't hold her own of course. Rose knew that she had to get the next word in. She would not let Josephine fight _all_ of her battles. She stepped forward, stating her participation in this conversation.

"What do you want, Precious?" Rose stated calmly but in a firm manner. She really did not know what this was all about but she was determined to find out.

"I want to know why you are hanging all over my boyfriend, Weasley! That's what!" Precious exclaimed. Josephine gave her the most funniest "What-the-hell-are-you-talking-about?" look Rose had ever seen and it took all her guts to suppress her laughter. Anyway, she had to focus on the conversation at hand.

"I have not been hanging all over Scorpius. Where on this earth did you get _that_ idea?" retorted Rose, surprised at her accusations.

"You're such a liar. I _saw_ talking to him yesterday and you were sitting outside of your Arithmancy class this morning. You were sitting almost against him, pretending to pour over his notes!"

"Excuse me? We are classmates, Precious! I was talking to him about the incident in Potions and today, all you saw was the two of us studying for our Arithmancy quiz. To be honest, I asked to look at his notes because I can barely read my own. My handwriting is untidy. We were studying and I was not all over him. You might need to get your eyes checked!" she retorted strongly and a moment later, she felt surprised at herself. Usually, she was much more soft-spoken and rarely raised her voice. She quickly glanced at Josephine and even she seemed surprise.

"It's obvious that you have the _hots_ for him. But he's my boyfriend—"

"_EX_-boyfriend, might I remind you," interrupted Josephine.

"That's just for the time being. I know we are getting back together soon!" Precious weakly responded.

Josephine was doing well in this argument and Rose was not going to burst her friends bubble when she was on the ball in a battle of wits which was now more like battle of the witty and witless. Josephine being the witty one and Precious being the witless one, of course. Rose did not understand, well, she rather understood why she would attack some innocent bystander who just happened to be female and who just happened to be talking to her ex-boyfriend not long after the break up occurred. It was obvious that Precious was still upset and not over Scorpius but they broke up and that was that. Precious just needed to move on but it was obvious that she was having some trouble with this…task.

"I really would love to stay and chat, Precious, but I have History of Magic next and I would really not like to miss class notes. It takes me a lot of time to make things up and the Professor locks the door after lessons start," Rose stated calmly, wanting to get out, but only taking a few steps forward and to the site of the girl. Josephine decided to catch Precious off-guard and pushed her roughly to side, letting Rose slip out first. Josephine was larger than Precious and had more athletic strength. Rose was not non-athletic but she did not inherit the Weasley talent for sports or other things, but she got her mother's brains and her father's loyalty.

"I'd watch my back if I were you, Weasley. You don't know what I'm capable of," Precious warned but weakly. Her threats were not shocking or really worried over. She hadn't done much damage in the past and Rose and Josephine were not about to let her menial threats bother them, Rose especially. She did not like being accused of 'throwing herself' at newly-on-the-market males and at Scorpius no doubt. Of course, she would not talk about the reality to Josephine. Josephine was pureblood but she had a meaningless grudge against the Malfoy boy.

Finally, Rose and Josephine made their way out of the bathroom and into the corridor and speed-walked to their next class, which just happened to be History of Magic. Rose was glad to be out of that predicament. She usually held her own but Josephine was just dying to let out some pent-up anger on someone she found most definitely annoying. Rose could not blame her. Rose had never been that close with Precious but they were never butting heads and throwing nasty remarks at one another. Just recently, she worked with Precious on a Potions assignment, even though Precious would not condescend to pick up an eye of a newt. However, now, Rose was definitely not font of Precious. Why and how did she get the idea that Rose had it bad for Scorpius Malfoy? Rose did not have _it bad_ for Scorpius Malfoy. Of course, she thought he was attractive. Rose was not blind and far from it, actually. She admired his handsome features, not exactly but not unlike his fathers.

Did Rose Asphodel Weasley have feelings for Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy? Rose did not think so. They were just acquaintances to many and secret friends amongst one another. Rose admired Scorpius, sure, but she did not have deep, emotional feelings that went beyond friendship. There was still a lot about Scorpius that Rose did not know and why he went out with Precious Pucey in the first place was definitely one of those things. However, Rose was not so insensitive that she would just ask him that flat out. She knew much better than that and besides, she respected Scorpius, little did her two best friends know. Both of them were not so thrilled about Rose calling Scorpius by his first name and because of that, she knew that they couldn't handle her being friends with him. The idea of a secret relationship, romantic or not, thrilled Rose in a strange way.

Rose remained in her thoughts until finally, the two friends arrived in the History of Magic classroom right before the professor charmed the door shut so that late-comers would not get it. Josephine had started to see it close and flicked out her wand to counter the spell. Rose admitted that she admired Josephine's charm work. It actually surpassed Rose's abilities. Rose was good at most of her classes but Josephine's charm work was always sharp and somethings, Rose's could have been a little dull and not as sharp. Rose was better at Potions, Herbology and her other classes but that was not to say that she was bad at Charms though. Josephine was just better. Rose looked around the room and then, she and Scorpius greeted each other with a lingering glance at one another and a small smile appeared on Rose's face as she greeted him wordlessly, with her eyes. Anyway, the two of them took their seats next to Albus, Rose's cousin. Albus turned to Rose and smiled with his silent greeting and then he turned back to his attention on the Professor.

The professor started the lesson and Rose was taking notes while concentrating on the lecture. Rose was not about to let her confrontation with Precious Pucey get to her. She knew that the jealous girl was not worth getting distracted from her studies. However, occasionally, Rose would think about the events and as she did so, she would glance over to Josephine who had an almost-vicious, determined look on her face. Rose knew that she was dwelling on what happened before they went to class. Josephine was a stubborn, proud creature who was loyal to the core. Rose admired her for it but at the same time, she hoped that Josephine was not going to suffer in this class because of the 'distraction.' Rose was determined to not let the previous events distract her from her work.

Fifty minutes after the start of the History of Magic lesson, it was over. Rose and Josephine made their way out of the classroom and down the corridor. Charms was the last class of the day today. On Friday, she only had two classes, Arithmancy and History of Magic and to be honest, Rose was thankful for that. Rose and Josephine soon parted ways because Josephine had quidditch practice and Rose well, did not. Rose was like her mother in the aspect that she was not that athletic to be on a quidditch team. Of course, being a Weasley, Rose loved to play but she was rather hopeless and clumsy on a broomstick up in the air. So, she decided that being a student was enough. Besides, last year, she was made prefect of her year and house and she had enough to do when she was not studying for her classes.

Rose knew where she was going and it was not to the library. She was heading to the small alcove in the ivy-covered sunlit and shaded courtyard, where she always relaxed on Friday after her classes were done. Sometimes, her friends would join her and they would work on Herbology homework together. Then they would talk about things, Esmeralda and Josephine usually brought up the latest gossip from around the school and Rose, not being the one to gossip, just listened to them griping about who's going out with who and who got completely humiliated in front of a large mass of other students. However, as she said before, she didn't really play into her friends 'juicy' gossip, especially what was going on right now. The entire school was still buzzing about the news of Scorpius Malfoy and Precious Pucey's very public break-up. Someone wise once said that gossip spreads like wild fire and that person was right on their mark. Everyone was talking about the break up and rumors were going to be starting soon. Rose was just glad that she did not make her friendship with Scorpius the most obvious thing in the world or rumors would start flying about her too.

Rose pushed all the thoughts from her mind and sat on a minimally cracked, worn stone bench underneath a shaded part of the courtyard wall, her favorite spot on the school grounds. Rose pulled out a scrap piece of parchment and her quill and doodled. She attempted to draw a unicorn but she did not succeed. Rose was the worst artist she knew. Her drawings of people were so bad that they would make stick figures look like great works of art in comparison. Nevertheless, Rose loved to doodle even if she was the worst artist ever. Rose continued her doodling until she could see the shadow of someone approach her in her secluded little spot in the courtyard out of the corner of her eye. She raised her head slightly and lifted her eyeballs in their sockets to see who it was and to her surprise it was Scorpius Malfoy, the would-be king of Slytherin. However, he was not a jerk, nor did he have ice in veins instead of hot, warm blood. He was competitive and determined and that was why he was placed in Slytherin. When Rose and Scorpius were in second year, they were constantly competing in their classes. There was this large rivalry between them and although they were not enemies, things got a little nasty when both of them were thrown into competitive activities or subjects in class. But there are times when Rose wondered why he hadn't been placed in Ravenclaw. He was the smartest boy in their year if not the entire school, something that Rose admired about him.

"Hey, Rose," Scorpius greeted Rose with a small smile as he maneuver over to sit next to her on the bench. As he did so, he noisily dropped his designer, brown, leather messenger bag to his side.

"Hi, Scorpius," Rose responded happily, though she tried not to sound _too_ happy, "What brings you here to my little alcove?" Rose could not look him in the eye after what happened in the bathroom with Precious. It was all somewhat awkward to her and Rose did not want to talk about it, though she doubted that Scorpius knew, unless Precious confronted Scorpius as well.

"Well, I've seen you and your friends come out here a lot on Fridays but I know that Josephine has quidditch practice. They are sharing the field with Slytherin today," Scorpius said looking over at Rose, who looking like she was concentrating on the scrap paper she had drawn a really bad unicorn on. Scorpius followed Rose's gaze to her paper and could not stifle a chuckle at her paper. He quickly went to cover his mouth, not wanting to offend her but it was too late for that.

"What is _so_ funny, Scorpius?" Rose said defensively, finally raising her head to look at him. With his outburst of chuckle, her awkwardness and thoughts went away and now, this was in the place of it. At least she wasn't avoiding his gaze now.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. Your _horse_ looks like a sausage with legs!" Scorpius exclaimed, not being able to contain his laughter any longer. Rose was fuming.

"Scorpius! I'll just leave if you're going to make fun of my artwork," she said, crumpling up the paper and throwing it to the ground as she started to get her bag and get up. As she walked a few steps, Scorpius reached out and grabbed her wrist but missed and grabbed her hand.

"Don't leave, Rose. I'm sorry about that. That wasn't very polite of me," he said, still having hold of her hand. Rose flushed a light pink at the warmth of his hand but she didn't turn around to see his face. Still holding onto her hand, Scorpius realized that he was holding her hand and almost-hesitantly let it go.

"Fine," Rose said with almost-mock suspicion. She turned around and sat back down.

"You have to admit that the horse does look a little funny," Scorpius said smiling, a hit of smirk in his smile.

"It agree that it does but I'd like to see you do any better, Scorpius," she said, holding out another scrap paper and a quill. Scorpius took them, unintentionally brushing his finger against hers. Rose felt heat rise in her cheeks and she didn't know why.

Rose shook any thoughts from her head as she observed Scorpius as he started to draw a horse. She leaned over to look at Scorpius's work and although at the time it only looked like a bunch of sketchy lines, an image started to form. Soon enough, Rose could see the contours of a horse's body, muscles and ligaments. Scorpius was really good at this. She enjoyed watching him draw the horse and got caught up in watching him sculpt the horse with his pencil. After quite a few minutes, Scorpius finished and Rose shook herself out of the artistic trance and looked at the horse clearly. The drawing was wonderful. It really was.

"Scorpius, that's amazing. Where did you learn to draw like that?" Rose asked excitedly, moving a little closer to the drawing as she examined it.

Scorpius smiled as a hint of pink touched his cheeks. "Well, my mother taught me. She's really good, much better than me, though," he said.

"Well, I think you're really good," Rose said, looking Scorpius in the eye, "I wish I could draw like that." She didn't notice the light blush to his cheeks.

"I could teach you, if you want," Scorpius offered.

"Oh no, Scorpius! Don't waste your artistic talent on me. I'm all numbers and logic. Remember, my drawing of a horse looked like a sausage with legs," Rose said, laughing lightly as she spoke. Scorpius couldn't help but smile at her statement.

The two of them continued talking about this and that until they noticed the sun started going down. Scorpius looked at his time piece and gathered up his bag. "Dinner should be served any moment. We should get going," Scorpius said, as he gathered up his things. Scorpius picked up the parchment that had the drawing of the horse he did on it. He was about to put it in his bag but then he hesitated.

"Rose, take this," he said sincerely, a small smile fighting at his lips. Rose's eyes widened as she accepted the piece of parchment.

"Thanks," she said as she fumbled slightly to get her belongings together. She carefully folded the drawing and stuck it in her bag nicely. Scorpius had walked a little ahead of her and as Rose finished up getting her things together, she walked quickly to catch up and they walked together until they entered. Scorpius lingered behind before they entered and sat at their respected tables.

Rose sat down at the Ravenclaw table next to her two best friends, Josephine and Esmeralda. Both of them had already gotten there and it seemed as if food had already been served.

"Where were you, Rosie?" asked Josephine, "We waited for you in the common room to go to dinner but you never showed."

"Sorry. I was in the alcove this afternoon and I ended up staying there for a while," Rose said, trying to end it then and there.

"What could you be doing for so long at the alcove, Rosie? I'm pretty sure that you have had all of your assignments done by now," Esmeralda piped up.

"I was just reading some more of my book and I drew a little," Rose said.

"But you can't draw your way out of a paper bag, Rosie!" Josephine exclaimed a little loudly. Rose clutched her bag to herself a little to obviously as she took a large spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth so she wouldn't have to answer.

"I know that, Josie. I still like drawing, " Rose retorted, only the slightest bit offended.

"Anyway," Esmeralda said, "Rose, Josie and I came up with an idea that tonight, we should have a sleepover in our dorm. It's Friday night and we don't have classes tomorrow. I think it'll be fun!" Esmeralda was smart but not as smart as her friends but she was always the instigator of fun. She was more bubbly and friendly than Josephine. Josephine was often brash, harsh and intimidating. Josephine towered over her friends and Esmeralda was definitely the shortest, but a bundle of fun in a small package.

Josephine just rolled her eyes at the idea but Rose turned to look at Esmeralda and said, "Actually, that's a great idea, Esmie. We haven't done one since the first weekend of school. That sounds like fun." Josephine agreed but she wasn't as excited as Rose or Esmeralda. They chattered away as they finished their supper. Esmeralda told her that their other dorm mates would be joining them. The other two dorm mates of the three friends were Rebeckah Lewis and Thalia Carmichael. Esmeralda, Rose and Josephine were friends with them and they had all been really close when they were in their first three years at Hogwarts. However, Thalia and Beckah were more interested in boys and makeup to be bothered with the three friends.

Esmeralda left dinner a little early, wanting to get everything set up faster. Rose and Josephine left together. They caught eyes with Precious as they left because she was leaving while they were living and all they got was a nasty glare from her now blotchy face. It looks obvious as to what she spent her free period doing.

Josephine and Rose walked until they got to the entrance of the Ravenclaw Common Room. They said the password and entered the common room. Quite a few of their housemates were already in the common room, hanging out by the fire and playing chess on the tables off towards the side. They entered their dorm which was at the top of a small staircase on the right side of the blue and bronze common room.

Esmeralda already had her pajamas on and dragged out some things like sweets, gossip magazines and her bright neon pink wireless. The wireless was currently playing the latest single by the Wonderkynks, "Pixiedust." Rose was never fond of the Wonderkynks because they were too loud for her but she had to admit, she loved the softer but still edgy vibe they gave off. She actually preferred muggle music, especially oldies. She loved Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. They were really quite old because they were old when her mom was growing up too. Her mom really liked the Beatles when she was younger. Rose knew that her mom had her secrets and one of them was that she liked the Sex Pistols as well. She saw that in her old, school trunk she had some muggle paraphernalia. Not to say that Rose did not like some of the wizarding groups or singers, she was just brought up on muggle music that her mother loved and well, the Weird Sisters, obviously. They were a little old now and Rose was sure that they were planning a comeback tour of some sort.

"Esme, it looks great!" Rose piped up as she entered the room. She headed over to her trunk to get out her pajamas.

Josephine just lumbered into the room, her usual scowl on her face. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the floor on her messy side of the room and a shirt that was crumpled and sitting on top of her unmade bed. She was the messiest person in the dorm and Rose often asked her to clean up but Rose often got snapped at when she did so. Rose would usually just back down. Josephine was a cranky one but she was extremely loyal and well, she was just one of Rose's best friends.

"Josephine, are those the cutest pajamas you have. They look all old and dirty," Esmeralda said, with her nose crinkled. Esmeralda was not the smartest of the Ravenclaws but she excelled in a few subjects and in those, she shone. Esmeralda was better in Defense against the Dark Arts, which is for sure. She even beat out Rose's cousin, Albus, who was the son of the famous Harry Potter and one of the best students in their year. Rose was certain that he inherited that gene somehow from Rose's mother. James and Lily were nowhere near as smart as Albus was.

"I don't care, Esmie. I prefer sweatpants," Josephine said in an almost-snappy tone. Esmeralda just raised her eyebrows and then lowered them quickly and went back to what she was doing. Rose had been changing into her pajamas. She had chosen out the classic pajama top and bottom set. Hers had little cakes and pastries on them and they were rather cute. She had a pair with little unicorns on them but she would not dare wearing them around other people except her family at home. Her cousins teased her as well about them.

Thalia and Beckah—Rebeckah, but all people called her by her nickname—soon arrived and quickly got changed into their silky pajama sets. They were excited to be doing something girly, which they believed to be rather unlike their dormmates, whom they referred to as the Antisocial Musketeers. They had not seen any of them go on a date or have a boyfriend. However, they often forgot that Rose had dated Nathaniel Smith for a while or that Josephine had been on several dates and had made out with quite a few guys but none of the prospective boys seemed to stick. Josephine was rather…well, she was quite aggressive and bold. Some of the boys did not understanding. The only boy that would even remotely stand up to her was James Potter, Rose's older cousin. He was in his seventh year, just a year above Rose and Albus. Once, Rose pondered the idea of James and Josephine dating but then she stopped thinking about it because James was her cousin and she hated it when Josephine would talk about how fine he was from behind, if you know what I mean. Oh yeah, Josephine's mind often wandered into the gutter. Rose shuddered, thinking about it.

Thalia and Rebeckah were quite the boy-crazy girls. Thalia had gone through two 'boyfriends' this year and it was not even Christmas yet. Rose had seen Rebeckah in abandoned corridors a few times, making out with different guys. Rose told her mom through a letter about this and her mom said that the two girls reminded her of two of her dormmates, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. However, her mother said they were not as scandalous. She knew that her dad had dated Lavender Brown and did not push the subject with her mother. Apparently, her mother had gotten very jealous and sent canaries after him once. She asked her uncle Harry about it and he said that Ron was being a bit of a dense fool. He obviously did not see how Hermione felt about him at the time. But Rose was rather happy that they found each other the next year. Otherwise, Rose and her little brother, Hugo, might not be here.

Rose was the first to pipe up.

"Hey Beckah, Thalia! We're glad you could make it!"

Thalia was the first to respond. She might have boy issues, but she was the sweetest of the two, much like Parvati was when her mom was in school, as her mom told her. Lavender was a bit envious and put off. After Ron had broke up with her, she was a 'bitter old braud' as her auntie Ginny described her. Ginny was one of the funniest of the family, right behind uncle George of course. Anyway, Thalia had a smile on and looked rather excited.

"I'm excited too. It was nice of you, Esmie and Josie to include us," Thalia exclaimed in honest excitement. Thalia was more close with Esmeralda than with Josephine. She found Josephine to be rather harsh and unforgiving, as most people at the school did.

"Actually, it was Esmie who planned all of this. She's the party planner of the three of us," Rose said with a light chuckle. She really wished that she was closer to Thalia and Beckah. They were both nice, even though the five of them all had their differences. At least, the two girls were rather nice, even though they had their issues.

Thalia smiled at Esmeralda, whom she considered a good friend. In due time, the five of them had settled down on the ground with large blue velvet cushions around the center of the room, where Esmeralda had laid out the sweets, deck of cards, the wireless and various gossip magazines. Rose grabbed a piece of some lemon-flavored chewy candy and bit into it, pulling at it between her teeth as if it was a muggle, sour, gummy worm.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Esmeralda asked, grabbing for the Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. Rose had eaten another piece.

"Truth or dare," Rebeckah stated simply. Rose gulped down the rest of the piece of candy that was in her mouth. She never liked that game. It was worse than 'I Never…" and she hated that game with a passion too. Who knew where the answers Rose provided would end up.

"That sounds good but first things first. I want to know what happened with Precious Pucey today. Rosie, you never told me," Esmeralda piped up, leaning towards her friend.

Rose glared daggers at Esmeralda and then at Josephine. "Josie, you told her? I told you that I did not want this getting out," she said to her friend with stern look on her face.

"Rosie, it is going to get out soon enough. Precious will probably tell everyone that you beat the shit out of her, anyway," Josephine said with a smart-alack tone.

"What?" Rose said incredulously, slowly steaming at Josephine.

"She'll want to victimize herself. She would not say that she beat you up because she likes to be seen as dainty and well…_Precious_. Haha. I love that I can come up with puns that include her name," Josephine said with a small laugh to herself.

Rose just glared at her.

"So, Rosie, what happened?"

Rose sighed and decided that she was not going to avoid this. "Well, I was talking to Scorpius in some place or another. We were talking about our Arithmancy assignment. Apparently she saw me and assumed that I had my 'hands on her man' or something equally stupid. It was all nonsense."

"So, you don't like him?" Rebeckah piped up.

"Not in that way. I mean, we are on friendly terms—" Rose said, but she was interrupted.

"Friendly terms? Do you even know who you are talking about Rose? This is Scorpius Weasley, son of Draco Malfoy and grandson of Lucius Malfoy. I think you've been smoking something," Josephine said, interrupted Rose as she always did.

"Josie! You're one to talk. You got some strange shit from a muggleborn boy in Hufflepuff and you smoked it outside instead of going to Herbology on Tuesday last week. You came back after dinner smelling like death. It was disgusting, Josie," Rose exclaimed. The girls looked around, never having seen Rose act like that, or curse, nonetheless. Josephine looked genuinely shocked…and a little frantic at the same time.

"How did you know that?" Josephine exclaimed, still frantic. Esmeralda let out a cackle and Thalia's jaw just dropped and from Rebeckah, came a very unladylike snort.

"I saw you, that is how I know. Merlin, Josie!" Rose said, trying her best not to smile at the flustered expression on her best friend's face.

"Stop changing the subject, Rosie. The subject is Scorpius Malfoy. It's rather odd that you would be on friendly terms with Scorpius, with your family and all—" Josephine did not get to finish because Rose interrupted her.

"My family has got nothing do with this or any of my social _risks_ as you may call them. I can't talk to someone without getting lectured," Rose said on the verge of being furious.

"But, Rosie! It's Scorpius _Malfoy_, for Merlin's sake. He is not just a social _risk_. He is a social stab in your skin!" Josephine spouted, almost just as angry.

"You don't even know him, Josie. Don't make such judgments," Rose said, trying to calm down and compose herself. She wasn't going to go off and let them think that she had a _thing_ for him by being overly protective of Scorpius.

"Just how _well_ do you know Scorpius, Rosie?" Josephine said in a mocking tone.

"Merlin, Josie! What is with you? I just talked to him and you know how Precious takes everything to heart and has to exaggerate. She is the most dramatic person in our year and you know it," Rose exclaimed.

"Well, remember when Lavanya Entwhistle got mixed up in Precious's plottings. Lavanya was such a sweet girl but then she had to reveal her secret crush on Scorpius. Precious just about ruined her. She also tried the 'friend' card with Scorpius but she was rather _clingy_ and I don't think that set well with him. Hopefully _you_ didn't get clingy either. He might spread word around that your desperate…and loose," Josephine said, flaunting her words on the air. She thought she was so clever with words.

"This conversation is done," Rose said in a scarily stern and calm voice. It was almost creepy the way that she said it. Thalia, Esmeralda and Rebeckah were all stunned and silent.

"What?—"

"I said this is done. I am sorry to break up the party, girls, but I think I'll just set off to bed. I am not really in the sleepover mood. However, you all should enjoy yourselves."

Rose went to her bed and climbed in. She grabbed her wand, journal, _The Catcher in the Rye_ and then shut her sparkle-speckled, midnight blue curtains and let her roommates to their sleepover doings. She felt like a 'party pooper' and no matter how much Rose loved her best friend, there were times when she wanted to just tell her to "Get bent." Not that Rose would use such foul language, though. She did not 'look down upon' or 'hate' her best friend in the entire world. How could she? In third year, she spent the entire time holding her when Rose told Holden McKenna that she had a crush on him and she found out that he did not like her back. He was her first 'love,' if you can even call it that. However, Josephine was not acting like a friend right now.

Her best friend was convinced that Scorpius Malfoy was a monster, just like his father and grandfather had been...for a portion of their lives. Scorpius was interesting, fun to be around in a calm kind of way and he was handsome. However, she was not going to admit this to Josephine for all she would get is some backtalk and some foul language coming out of her mouth.

Rose wrote about what happened today in the courtyard with Scorpius. However, she did not record how many times she could remember the heat rising in her cheeks when he smiled. She did not know what her journal to know or anyone that might happen upon it by accident. She did _not_ like Scorpius Malfoy in _that_ way. He was her friend, her not-really-but-kind-of-secret friend. She was not extremely, extremely close to him but she admired him and wanted to get to know him better. She really enjoyed talking to him and picking his brain. Also, looking at him was not too bad either but she would _**never**_ let anyone know that. She would never hear the end of it from her brother, her cousin James, her cousin Fred or Josephine, for that matter.

She read more from her book by wandlight and soon, she felt herself drift to sleep. Her dreams were not boring. Scorpius Malfoy made a small appearance and she would remember this, is Rose ever remembered her dreams when she got up. She never did though.


End file.
